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Not a good year so far...
Nov 5, 2007

For oh so many reasons but at least I am now back online and on h2g2 although probably with a greatly reduced presence.

(44 replies, Latest reply: May 27, 2009)

Still Alive...
Jul 21, 2007

Just...

shazz

(11 replies, Latest reply: Aug 9, 2007)

Under Pressure
Feb 7, 2006

After a fairly relaxing year, during which Het Kasteel has undergone a major (and costly) revamp, suddenly my days and nights are filled again.

Quite a few of us - including Max Headroom from h2g2 - attended the try-out night last Friday. This was deliberately set up so that we could not only admire the new main hall but also see how, or if, everything works. The general consensus seems to be that overall there is a huge improvement in decor and cleanliness. The light system, despite not being fully installed at the time, was impressive. The sound system still needs some tweaking to ensure perfect balance throughout the hall.

On the flip side the change from using tokens to real money caused quite a few bar staff problems and there is concern as to whether the speed of service will be able to cope with big parties.

There was a distinct lack of places to set your drink down and no seating in the main hall. This led to many hanging out in the entrance hall to take a brief rest by sitting on the floor! Of course, this problem will be resolved to some extent by the re-opening of the cafe but alternatives are being looked at and the installation of bench seating is being seriously considered.

This Thursday night the local digintaries will all turn up for the official opening. Friday night is the first night of a two-day feest and TM will be DJing in the cafe. Saturday night sees all the various regular party night organisations take a turn at doing their thing and I have been promoted!!!

I will be DJing in the main hall back-to-back with my 'boss', Wout, for the 2.30-4.00 am stint of 'Easytune'. Usually Wout spins in the main hall and I take the cafe so this is quite a step up and I must confess to being just a little nervous especially as it seems I can't hide away in the DJ booth but have to perform on the stage.

So, I am up to my eyes creating a database of my music and thinking about the best sounds to play. We will be 'playing it by ear' so a set-list isn't an option.

The following week doesn't get any quieter. Thursday we have the first night of our Ten Forward cafe bar which means working from 8pm until around 2 or 3 am. Friday we also run the cafe during the first band evening which features Peter Pan Speedrock in the main hall. This is scheduled to end at 4am after which we have our cleaning duties.

Saturday is the first Easytune feest and, again, I am going up in the world. I'll either be opening in the main hall for 3 hours or so or closing in the cafe - either way these represent a step-up from opening in the cafe which I used to do. Easytune usually attracts 500 guests and is one of the most succesful party nights in Kasteel. With the new liscensing rules it will go on until 5am so don't expect to get much sense out of me on Sunday!

Who ever said February was a quiet month!!!

(11 replies, Latest reply: May 19, 2006)

Oh for goodness sake
Nov 6, 2005

I cannot believe what I have been reading in the last few days. With this in mind I think it only right that I bring a few things out into the open. I am aware that is going to be an unpopular journal entry but the air needs clearing.

I am *not* ill. I *was* ill - very ill with peritonitis and it was touch and go for a while. Since an operation, recouperation and a bout of severe post-op depression, however, I am now back to good health apart from coping with the onset of the menopause due to removal of an ovary.

What *did* set me back for a while was the loss of my computer twice due to a corrupt hard drive and the loss of all my email contacts, messenger details etc. My email address remained the same so I didn't perceive that to be a problem at the time...

Now, with regards to The Post. I was very heartened to see many rally round to keep The Post going. If it could be maintained during my convalescence then at least there would be a Post to come back to.

1) I *was* looking forward to returning... but

2) The lack of *any* communication from *any* of the current team or *any* of the italics started to make that increasingly difficult. When difficulties were encountered why didn't anyone make some sort of effort to contact me for assistance? You can't stay 'in the loop' and hope to return if you are summararily excluded.

3) The increasingly large amount of behind the scenes work which would need to be undertaken in order to justify the Front Page link. The lifeblood of The Post for a long time was the Archives and, when we lost a permanent link for a while during the h2g Front Page reshuffle, the *only* link to The Post was to the archives. There used to be a file readily available to The Post Team which emphasised the importance of the archives and how easy it was to update them at the same time as editing an article.

Included in this file were guidelines to every aspect of creating and publishing The Post. These were aimed at keeping continuity so that Post pages were instantly recognisable, they conformed to the guidelines laid down by the h2g2 italics (No, on my watch we never, ever had an entire Post Front Page removed for moderating. A couple of articles which mentioned a portable cabin by name and a couple for a mix-up over acceptable swear words were the only ones temporarily hidden and quickly replaced) and The Post since its inception and, most of all, to make the process as simple and painless as possible. They were not intended to be in any way dictatorial - they were *guidelines*

4) A few random remarks here and there about previous columns and articles. The misconception that the sporting column was generally rubbish when several, Master B and I did our best to cover a wide range of sports including rugby, football, tennis, skiing, snooker, baseball, Amfoot, dog sledding - to name but a few. The fact that several (whose contribution was a sub-part of the sport column called 'Sporting Blues' by the way) died shortly after these posts compounded this feeling of sadness.

5) The difficulty with cartoons and graphics. A cursory glance through the many articles using graphics would have revealed exactly how to code these. A small foray into the archives would have led to A3962685 (The Post 2005 Graphic Competitions) where the requirements for graphics for The Post are clearly laid out.

6) The changes in deadlines. Not a major issue but I had made it clear that the weekend was my busiest time work-wise which is why it was prepped during the week. With DJ and bar duties stretching into the early hours, plus other commitments, finding time to edit any Post at the weekend was not an option for me. This problem, however, would have been easy to fix and I fully understood why the goalposts had to be moved.

7) A breakdown in communication in some areas. I worked very hard to keep all postings done under the 'Post Team' umbrella courteous. I am aware how tedious and time consuming this can be but surely it takes the same amount of words to be polite as to be verging on rude and dismissive? A few bridges would have to be built.

6) The appearance of postings with regards to 'I wish The Post would die' and it being a millstone. Again - if things had got that bad why was I not even approached to come back or assist? For things to deteriorate that quickly, even with a larger team than ever working to produce an issue once a fortnight, seemed like a slap in the face. I had spent almost 6 years of my life on The Post and, despite having to write appeals for assistance or articles occasionally, I *never* felt that The Post was any less than a joy to work on. I may have had the odd blip - things sometimes went wrong as with any project in life - but I looked on it as my adopted child and cherished it accordingly.

So is it any wonder that I cleared my desk? Am I being unreasonable? I certainly didn't think that I should have to come cap-in-hand to the current team to ask for my job back which, ironically, I would have accepted! I would have thought it should be the other way round...

I know that this sounds an ungrateful tirade but it isn't. It is posted in the hope that the record is put straight and not as an attack on any one individual or group of people. It is *my* side of the saga of The Post.

(34 replies, Latest reply: Jan 19, 2006)

The time has come to say farewell
Nov 2, 2005

After over 6 years of h2g2 and almost 6 years of running ThePost the time has come to hang up my quill.

It has been a fun ride. The friendships I have made will endure a lifetime - especially the one which saw me move to Holland!

Since my operation and illness earlier in the summer I have dropped by occasionally to see how things were going. What can I say? This place doesn't seem to be a place I want to visit anymore. I guess it has moved on and I have remainded the same.

I give my full permission for the Dutch Researchers club to be taken over by whomsoever would like to run it.

I wish the new Post Team all the best for the future.

I hope that all my old friends will still feel free to email me at my usual address - and those who have enjoyed our hospitality or those who have been invited to in the future are still most welcome.

shazz - no longer 'PRME'

(54 replies, Latest reply: Nov 11, 2005)